RICHFIELD — Following a Sept. 3 ruling by an administrative law judge that cleared the way for Milk Source Holdings Inc. to continue its work on a large-scale dairy farm in the Adams County town of Richfield, the milk producer is looking forward.

In an interview with Daily Tribune Media, Milk Source's director of public affairs, Bill Harke, said the company is optimistic about the future of its planned concentrated animal feeding operation, or CAFO, in Richfield.

Estimated to cost around $40 million, the Richfield dairy's development plans have been in limbo for roughly three years as the company faced court challenges preventing it from proceeding with construction. The facility would be home to 4,300 milking or dry cows and 250 steers, as well as two high-capacity wells with an annual maximum pumping rate of 52.5 million gallons.

Still, Milk Source is not exactly sure when construction on the new farm will begin. For now, the site where the CAFO would sit is bereft of any facility. The land does, however, continue to be farmed.

"It's been growing crops since we purchased it in 2011," Harke said.

During the three years the Richfield dairy has been tied up in the courts, the company saw opportunities for new facilities pop up in Hudson, Mich., and Medina, Mich. Milk Source is finishing work at these operations and will complete its work in Michigan before it starts working on its Richfield farm, Harke said.

"We got to finish up Michigan — we got to finish up (the project) in Medina, Mich.," Harke said. "That's the No. 1 priority."

Although a start date for the dairy is unknown, the Richfield dairy's details — including the farm's designs and permits — are all set, Harke said.

Now, Milk Source is waiting for the finalized version of the Department of Natural Resource's environmental impact statement.

"Everything is in place that would allow us to do our farm," Harke said. "We are just waiting for the DNR to rule from its last public hearing."

In mid-October, the DNR held a public hearing for community members to provide input on the environmental impact statement's performance in addressing the cumulative effects of high-capacity wells on the area.

At the public hearing, people in favor of and opposed to the Milk Source dairy provided their input on the environmental impact statement. Monday marked the last day the DNR accepted written comments about the draft of its environmental impact statement for the proposed dairy.

Bob Manwell, DNR public affairs manager, said the DNR will reply to all the comments they received from the public, both written and oral.

Depending on the content, the comments may result in addendum to the environmental impact statement. However, Milk Source is essentially cleared to begin work on its CAFO, Manwell said.

Harke said Milk Source will inform the Richfield Town Board as soon as it decides on start date.

"Every time we put up a new farm, we have to find new cows, more employees," Harke said. "It's just a long process."

Milk Source operates dairy farms and facilities in both Wisconsin and Michigan.

Melanie Lawder can be reached at mlawder@cwnews.net or 715-423-7200. Find her on Twitter as @mel_lawder.